Reflective ultraviolet light shield for a HVAC unit

ABSTRACT

A heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) unit. The unit comprises a heat exchanger or drain pan located inside a HVAC housing that has one or more access openings and ultraviolet light-sensitive components therein. The unit also comprises a light located inside of the HVAC housing and a light shield located between the heat exchanger or drain pan and the light source. The light source includes a network of open-ended cells, each cell having ultraviolet light reflective walls. The light shield is oriented to direct an ultraviolet light from the light source through the open-ended cells towards the heat exchanger or drain pan and away from the one or more access openings and ultraviolet light-sensitive components.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED INFORMATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/505,664, filed Jul. 20, 2009, titled Reflective Ultraviolet LightShield for a HVAC Unit, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,726,388, the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application is directed, in general, to heating, ventilating andair conditioning units, and more specifically, to heating, ventilatingand air conditioning units having an ultraviolet light shield and tomethods of manufacturing such units.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Water can condense on the heat exchangers (e.g., evaporator fins andcooling coils) or drain pans of heating, ventilating and airconditioning (HVAC) units, thereby providing a favorable environment formicroorganisms (e.g., mold, pollen, bacteria etc. . . . ). The presenceof such materials can detrimentally affect the quality of air passedthrough the heat exchanger. In some cases ultraviolet (UV) light is usedto degrade or kill the microorganisms. UV light exposure however, candegrade UV-sensitive components in a HVAC unit, thereby shortening theoperable lifetime of these components. UV light exposure can also damagehuman tissue (e.g., the eyes) thereby presenting a potential hazard toindividuals servicing HVAC units.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the present disclosure is a heating, ventilating andair conditioning (HVAC) unit. The unit comprises a heat exchanger ordrain pan located inside a HVAC housing that has one or more accessopenings and ultraviolet light-sensitive components therein. The unitalso comprises a light located inside of the HVAC housing and a lightshield located at least partially between the heat exchanger or drainpan and the light source. The light source includes a network ofopen-ended cells, each cell having ultraviolet light reflective walls.The light shield is oriented to direct an ultraviolet light from thelight source through the open-ended cells towards the heat exchanger ordrain pan and away from the one or more access openings and ultravioletlight-sensitive components.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a method ofmanufacturing a HVAC unit. The method comprises providing a HVAC housinghaving one or more access openings and ultraviolet light-sensitivecomponents. The method further comprises placing a heat exchanger ordrain pan inside of the HVAC housing such that the heat exchanger ordrain pan are located between paths for conditioned air and returnairflow. The method also comprises locating a light source inside of theHVAC housing such that ultraviolet light emitted from the light sourcecan reach the heat exchanger or drain pan. The method further comprisessituating the above-described light shield at least partially betweenthe heat exchanger or drain pan and the light source in the HVAChousing.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present invention in order that the detaileddescription of the invention that follows may be better understood.Additional features and advantages of the invention will be describedhereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. Itshould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conceptionand specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures for carrying out the samepurposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by thoseskilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic ofthe invention, both as to its organization and method of operation,together with further objects and advantages will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, thateach of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration anddescription only and is not intended as a definition of the limits ofthe present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 presents a perspective view of an example embodiment of an HVACunit of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 presents an exploded perspective view of an example embodiment ofa light shield of the HVAC unit of the disclosure, such as the lightshield of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A presents a detailed perspective view of an example embodiment ofa light shield of the HVAC unit of the disclosure, such as the lightshield of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3B presents a wire-frame perspective view of selected cells of thelight shield shown in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 presents a detailed perspective view of an another exampleembodiment of a light shield of the HVAC unit of the disclosure, such asthe light shield shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 presents a flow diagram of an example method of manufacturing aHVAC unit of the disclosure, such as the unit and its component partdepicted in FIGS. 1-4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It was discovered that placing a light shield between a light source andheat exchanger or drain pan facilitates directing UV light emitted fromsaid light source towards the heat exchanger or drain pan and away fromaccess openings or UV-sensitive components inside a HVAC unit. The lightshield is designed to minimize the loss of UV light transmitted from thelight source to the heat exchanger or drain pan, and at the same time,minimize the amount UV light transmitted from the light source to accessopenings or plastic UV-sensitive components of the HVAC unit. Byminimizing the amount of UV light transmitted from the light source toaccess openings or UV-sensitive components, potentially harmful humanexposure and the degradation of the components can be mitigated.

One embodiment of the present disclosure is a HVAC unit. FIG. 1 presentsa perspective view of an example embodiment of an HVAC unit 100 of thedisclosure. Some over lying features (e.g., the unit's top and sidepanel covers) are not shown so as to more clearly depict underlyingfeatures.

The unit 100 comprises a heat exchanger 105 or drain pan 106 locatedinside a HVAC housing 107. As illustrated, both the heat exchanger 105and drain pan 106 located inside a HVAC housing 107. The housing 107 canhave one or more access openings 110. During the unit's normaloperation, the access openings 110 are normally covered by access panels115, but for clarity, are shown with the panels 115 removed in FIG. 1).The HVAC housing 107 also holds UV light sensitive components 117, 118therein. The unit 100 also comprises a light source 120 located insideof the HVAC housing 107. The unit 100 comprises a light shield 122 whichis at least partly located between the heat exchanger 105 or drain pan106 and the light source 120.

The light source 120 is configured to emit UV light 124 (e.g., lighthaving a peak in intensity at a wavelength in the range of about 200 to300 nm). Because of its greater efficiency at destroying microbes thanother wavelengths, some preferred embodiments of the light source 120emit C-band UV light 124 (light having a peak in intensity at awavelength in the range of about 254 to 265 nm). In some embodimentssuch as shown in FIG. 1, the light source 120 can include, or is, one ormore cylindrically-shaped light bulbs.

Those skilled in the art would be familiar with the various componentsthe HVAC unit 100 could include, and the possible embodiments of heatexchanger 105, drain pan 106, housing 107, access openings 110. Forinstance, the heat exchanger 105 can include assembles of coils 128 andfins 130. The drain pan 106 can be an assembly of metal or plasticsheets. The housing 107 can comprise metal sheets welded together, andconfigured for mounting inside or outside of a building (e.g., a housingfor a roof-top HVAC unit). The access openings 110 can include openingsgiving access to the heat exchanger 105, drain pan 106, blowers 132,control board 134, or other components such as baffles 136 and ballasts138 of the unit 100. The UV light-sensitive components can includeelectrical insulation 117 (e.g. insulation surrounding wires orelectronic parts), belts 118 that contain plastics, or other components,such as paper or plastic air filters or plastic coupling or mountingstructures (not shown) that are known to be degraded by UV light.

In some preferred embodiments, the light source 120 and light shield 122cooperate to distribute the UV light 124 at an average intensity of atleast about 50 μW/cm2 to a facing surface of the heat exchanger 105 andat an average intensity of about 25 μW/cm2 or less, and more preferablyabout 15 μW/cm2 or less, to surfaces of the access openings 110 andultraviolet light-sensitive components 117, 118.

FIG. 2 presents an exploded perspective view of an example embodiment ofa light shield 122 of the HVAC unit 100 of the disclosure, such as thelight shield 122 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3A presents detailed perspectiveviews of the example light shield 122 shown in FIG. 2.

The light shield 122 includes a network 210 of open-ended cells 220having UV light reflective walls 230. The light shield 122 is orientedto direct an UV light 124 (FIG. 1) from the light source 120 through theopen-ended cells 220 towards the heat exchanger 105 or drain pan 106 andaway from the access openings 110 and UV light-sensitive components 117,118.

A UV light reflective wall 230 refers to a material that has areflection coefficient towards UV light of 0.5 or greater. The materialcan be a layer on the wall 230, or can be the material that the wall 230is composed of. Examples of suitable materials include metals or metalalloys having a reflection coefficient equal to or greater than about0.5, such as steel (e.g. galvanized steel), or more preferably, aluminum(having reflection coefficient equal to about 0.7).

In some embodiments, open-ended cells 220 of the network 210 are definedby three or more walls 230. Each pair of adjacent ones of the walls 230meets to form edges of the cell 220. For instance, the open-ended cells220 of the network 210 shown in FIG. 3A are defined by four walls 230that meet to thereby forming a six-walled honeycomb network 210. Forinstance, two walls 310, 312 that are adjacent to each other meet toform an edge 315 of a cell 320. The edge 315 corresponds to a linesegment where the two walls 310, 312 meet. As further illustrated inFIG. 3A, each wall 230 can be shared by at least two of the open-endedcells 220 of the network 210. For instance, a wall 326 of cell 322 isalso a wall 326 of an adjacent cell 324.

In some embodiments, it is desirable for each of the open-ended cells tohave the same uniform geometric shape. Having a same uniform geometricshape is desirable because it is easier to predict the region of theheat exchanger 105 or drain pan 106 that is covered by the UV light 124exiting the light shield 122 (FIG. 1). Consequently, the open areas atthe ends of the cells will have a geometric shape that is prescribed bythe shape of the cells. This is further illustrated in FIG. 3B, whichpresents a wire-frame perspective view of selected example cells 340,345 of the light shield 122. For instance, the open areas 350, 352 atthe ends 355, 357 the cells 340, 345 can have a hexagonal-honey combshape. In other embodiments, the open areas 350, 352 could havetriangular, diamond, square, pentagonal, heptagonal, octagonal, or otherregular geometric shapes well-known to those skilled in the art. Instill other embodiments, however, the open areas 350, 352 do have auniform geometric shape.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, for some embodiments, each of the UVlight reflective walls 230 is substantially planar. Excessive curvaturein the walls 230 could undesirably decrease the efficient transmissionof UV light 124 through the light shield 122 and away from accessopenings 110 and UV light sensitive components 117, 118. The termsubstantially planar as used herein is defined as a radius of curvature360 of each of the walls 230 that is equal to or greater than a length365 of the walls substantially in the direction that the UV light 124travels through the cells 220 (FIG. 3B). For instance, if the wall'slength 365 equals about 5 cm, the radius of curvature 360 is at leastabout 5 cm.

In some embodiments, each of the reflective walls is orientatedsubstantially perpendicular to the nearest surface of the light source.Consequently, light emitted from the light source travels in a directionthat is parallel to the walls. Such an orientation is conducive to theefficient transmission of UV light 124 through the light shield 122 tothe heat exchanger 105 or drain pan 106 and away from access openings110 and UV light sensitive components 117, 118 (FIG. 1). For example, asillustrated in FIG. 3A, when the light source 120 includes, or is, acylindrically shaped bulb, the nearest surface 370 of the light source120 is that curved portion of the bulb that is closest to each of thereflective walls 230. Each of the reflective walls 230 forms an angle375 with respect to a straight path 380 to the nearest surface 210 thatranges from about −45 to 45 degrees, more preferably equals about 0degrees.

In some embodiments, such as shown in FIG. 3A, the orientation of thelight shield 122 is such that the UV light 124 projects out of thenetwork 210 over an angle 385 that in a range from about 45 to 180degrees. For instance, in some embodiments, where it is desirable forthe UV light 124 to reach only a small area (e.g., just the drain pan,FIG. 1) then the projection angle 385 may be in the range of about 45 to90 degrees. For instance, in some embodiments, where it is desirable forthe UV light 124 to reach a large area (e.g., a non-planar arrange ofheat exchangers 105, FIG. 1) then the projection angle 385 may be in therange of about 140 to 180 degrees (e.g., about 150 degrees in somecases).

The network 210 of open-ended cells 220 can have a variety of shapes anddimensions that facilitate the light shield's ability to direct the UVlight 120 to the heat exchanger 105 or drain pan 106 and away fromaccess openings 110 and UV light sensitive components 117, 118.

For instance, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3A, the network 210 ofopen-ended cells 220 can have a cylindrical hemi-annular shape. In someembodiments, the light source 120 is located inside of a concave cavity390 of semi-cylindrical hemi-annular shaped network 210. Suchembodiments help to distribute the UV light 120 uniformly over the heatexchanger 105 or drain pan 106.

For instance, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, to ensure thedesired orientation of the light 124, the semi-cylindrical hemi-annularshaped network 210 has a long axis 235 length that is substantiallyequal to the length of the long axis 240 of the cylindrically-shapedbulb light source 120 (e.g., same length with ±10 percent). For example,when the bulb 120 has a long axis length 240 of about 61 cm thenetwork's long axis 235 length equals about 61±6 cm. In someembodiments, each bulb's long axis 240 is substantially centrallyaligned with, and parallel to, the heat exchanger 105. This canfacilitate providing a uniform distribution of UV light 124 to a broadarea of the heat exchange 105. In other cases, however, otherconsiderations, such as space limitation inside of the housing, or, theuse of a non-planar heat exchanger 105 configurations, can make itdesirable to orient the bulb's long axis 240 and light shield 122non-parallel or non-central to the exchanger 105.

For instance, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3A, the cylindricalhemi-annular shaped network 210 has a radial thickness 392 that rangesfrom about 1 to 5 cm, and more preferably about 2.5 cm. As illustratedin FIGS. 3A and 3B, the radial thickness 392 can be substantially equalto the length 365 of the cell's walls 230.

In some embodiments, a first open end of each of the cells that isclosest to the light source has a smaller open area than an open area ofa second open end of the cells. For instance, as shown in FIG. 3B, for asemi-cylindrical hemi-annular shaped network 210, the smaller first openarea 350 of the first end 355, can be closest to the light source 120,and, the second larger open area 352 of the second opposite end 357 canbe farthest from the light source 120. In some embodiments, the firstopen area 350 is in a range of about 1 to 10 cm2 and the second openarea 352 is about 1.5 to 2.5 times larger than the first open area 350.Having the second open area 352 larger than the first open area 350 canhelp to distribute the UV light 120 over a larger region of the heatexchanger 105, as compared to when the first and second ends 355, 357had substantially the same size of open areas.

In other instances, the network 210 of open-ended cells 220 can have asubstantially planar rectangular shape. Such an embodiment isillustrated in FIG. 4, which presents a detailed perspective view ofanother example embodiment of the light shield 122. A substantiallyplanar rectangular-shaped network 210 may be advantageous in casesinstances where the space available in the HVAC housing 107 (FIG. 1) issmall. A substantially planar rectangular-shaped network 210 may alsohave lower manufacturing costs than non-planar shaped networks such as asemi-cylindrical hemi-annular shaped network 210.

In some embodiments, the light shield 122 further includes a frame 150(FIG. 1) configured to maintain the network's shape. For instance, thelight shield 120 shown in FIG. 2 has a frame 150 that helps to maintainthe network 210 in a semi-cylindrical hemi-annular shape. For instance,the light shield 120 shown in FIG. 2 has a frame 150 that helps tomaintain the network 210 in a planar-rectangular shape. In some cases,FIG. 3A, portions of the frame 150 can also serve to block light 124passing through certain cells 220 such that the UV light 124 is directedaway from certain locations in the housing 107 (e.g., the accessopenings 110 and UV light-sensitive components 117, 118).

As shown in FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the light shield 122 furtherincludes a cover 155. As shown in FIG. 2 the cover 155 can be configuredto hold the light source 120 a fixed distance away from the network 210.The cover 155 can include light mounting brackets 250 that attach thelight source 120 to a body 254 of the cover 155. The cover 155 can beshaped to fit tightly over the portion of the network 210 that faces theheat exchanger 105 or drain pan 106, such that the UV light cannot passout of the light shield 122 other than through the cells 220 of thenetwork 210. The cover 155 can also serve to block the UV light suchthat it does not illuminate undesirable locations in the housing 107(e.g., the access openings 110 and UV light-sensitive components 117,118).

The specific position and distance of the light source relative to thenetwork and heat exchanger or drain pan are additional importantvariables that affects the intensity and direction of UV light thatpasses through the cells towards the heat exchanger or drain pan andaway from access openings and UV light-sensitive components.

For instance, as shown in FIG. 3A, if the distance 394 separating theopposing surfaces of the network 210 and light source 120 is too large,the size of the light shield 122 may be bigger than desired to fitinside of the housing 107 (FIG. 1). If the distance 394 separating theopposing surfaces of the network 210 and light source 122 is too small,the ability of the cells 220 to direct the UV light 124 towards (theheater exchange 105) and away (e.g., the access openings 110 and UVlight-sensitive components 117, 118) from the desired locations in thehousing 107 may be hampered. In some embodiments, the opposing surfacesof the network 210 and light source 122, e.g., such as depicted in FIG.2, are separated by a distance 394 that ranges from about 1 to 10 cm.

For instance, in some embodiments, such as when the network 210 has acylindrical hemi-annular shape, the network 210 can at least partialcircumscribe the long axis 122 of a light source 120 configured as acylindrical bulb. This orientation helps to direct greater amounts ofthe light 124 towards and away from the desired directions in the unit100. For example, the network 210 can circumscribe an about 45 orgreater angle 396 around the bulb's long axis 122. In some cases, thebulb's long axis 122 is preferably located substantially at a radialcenter 398 of the network's hemi-annulus (e.g., the network's radialcenter, if the hemi-annular shape were extended to a full annulus).

For instance, if the distance 160 (FIG. 1) separating the outer surfaceof the network 210 and the heat exchanger 105 or drain pan 106 is toolarge, then the germicidal effectiveness of the light 124 emitted fromthe light source 120 may not be effective. If the distance 160 is toosmall then the only a small portion of the heat exchange may beilluminated by any one light source, thereby necessitating the inclusionof more light sources 120 and light shields 122 inside the housing 107.In some embodiments, the outer surface of the network 210 is separatedfrom the heat exchanger 105 or drain pan 106 by a distance 160 thatranges from about 10 to 30 cm (FIG. 1).

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, an interior surface 258 of thecover 155 is UV light reflective. Having a UV light-reflective interiorsurface 258 facilitates the efficient transmission of UV light emittedby the light source 120 through the cells 220 of the network 210. Forinstance, instead of being substantially absorbed by the interiorsurface 258, the UV light can be reflected off of the cover's surface258 towards the network 210. The interior surface 258 can comprise sametype of materials as the UV light reflective walls 230. For instance,the interior surface 258 preferably has a reflection coefficient for UVlight of about 0.5 or greater. For instance, in some cases, the cover155 is made, or has an interior material layer, of aluminum or steel.

As shown in FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the light shield 122 furtherincludes a housing mounting bracket 170 configured to connect the lightshield 122 to the HVAC housing 107 so as to provide the desiredorientation of the light shield 122 with respect to the heater exchange105. For instance, the light shield 122 can mounted inside of thehousing 107 by connecting the brackets 170 to fixtures 175 of thehousing 107, e.g., via a snap lock mechanism 260 (FIG. 2).

In some embodiments, such as shown in FIG. 2, the light shield 122 hasone or more housing mounting brackets 170 attached to opposing ends ofthe network 210 or frame 150. Embodiments of the housing mountingbracket 170 can be configured to be reversibly connected (e.g., bysnap-fitting, bolting, clamping or other conventional means) to fixtures175 of the HVAC housing 107. A reversible connection to the housing 107can facilitate the servicing and replacement of components of the unit100, e.g., for cleaning the network 210, the heat exchanger 105 or drainpan 106, or, for replacing the light source 120.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a method ofmanufacturing a HVAC unit. FIG. 5 presents a flow diagram of an examplemethod 500 of manufacturing a HVAC unit of the disclosure, such as theHVAC unit 100 with its component parts, as depicted in FIGS. 1-4, whichare referred to throughout.

The method 500 comprises a step 510 of providing a HVAC housing 107having one or more access openings 110 and ultraviolet light-sensitivecomponents 117, 118. One skilled in the art would be familiar with themanufacture and assembly of housings 107 suitable for HVAC applications.The method 500 also comprises a step 515 of placing a heat exchanger 105or a drain 106 (or both) inside of the HVAC housing such that the heatexchanger 105 is located between paths for conditioned air and returnairflow. Those skilled in the art would be familiar with variousembodiments of heat exchangers 105 or drain pans 106 that can be used inHVAC applications, and, with procedures to optimally locate the heatexchange 105 in the housing 107 so as to be in the airflow's path.

The method 500 also comprises a step 520 of locating a light source 120inside of the HVAC housing 107 such that UV light 124 emitted from thelight source 120 can reach the heat exchanger 105 or drain pan 106. Insome cases, the light source 120 is located inside of the housing instep 520 by being incorporated into a light shield 122 which is thensituated inside of the housing 107 as further discussed below. In othercases, however, the light source 120 can be separately attached to thehousing 107.

The method further comprises a step 530 of situating at least a portionof the light shield 122 between the heat exchanger 105 or drain pan 106and the light source 120. As discussed above in the context of FIGS.1-4, the light shield 122 includes a network 210 of open-ended cells 220and each cell 220 has UV light reflective walls 230. The light shield122 is oriented to direct UV light 124 from the light source 120 throughthe open-ended cells 220 towards the heat exchanger 105 or drain pan 106and away from the one or more access openings 110 and ultravioletlight-sensitive components 117, 118.

In some cases, the light source 120 and light shield 122 can beseparately located (step 520) and situated (step 530) inside of thehousing 107. In some cases, situating the light shield 122 in step 530includes attaching the light source 120 to the cover 155 of the lightshield 122 in step 532, attaching the cover 155 to the frame 150 of thelight shield 122 in step 535 and then mounting the light shield 122 tofixtures 175 in the housing in step 537. In some cases, situating thelight shield 122 in step 530 includes reversible connecting mountingbrackets 160 of the light shield 122 to the fixtures 175 in step 537. Insome cases, mounting the light shield to the fixtures 175 in step 537 issuch that it provides the light shield 122 with the desired orientation,with no further adjustments to its position needed. In other cases, oneor both the mounting brackets 170 or fixtures 175 are adjustable so asto facilitate more precise situating of the light shield in accordancewith step 530.

Some embodiments, of the method 500 further includes forming the lightshield 122 in step 540. Forming the light shield in step 540 can includea step 545 of forming the network 210 of open-ended cells 220. Forinstance, forming the network 210 (step 545) can include adhering aplurality of material layers (e.g., aluminum or steel layers) togetherby laying down glue in line segments on successive material layersbefore pressing the material layers together. The line segments of gluecan be uniformly spaced apart various grid patterns in accordance to thedesired sizes of open areas 350, 352 and geometric patterns of the cells220. After the glue has dried the layers are pulled apart to form thenetwork 210 of open ended cells 220.

Forming the light shield 122 in step 540 can also include a step 550 ofinserting the network 210 into a frame 150 that is configured to shapethe network 210 into a target shape. For instance, in some cases, theframe 150 is configured to shape the network into a cylindricalhemi-annular shape (see e.g., frame 150 and network 210 depicted FIG.2). For instance, in some cases, the frame 150 is configured to shapethe network 210 into a planar rectangular shape (see e.g., frame 150 andnetwork 210 depicted in FIG. 4).

Those skilled in the art to which this application relates willappreciate that other and further additions, deletions, substitutionsand modifications may be made to the described embodiments.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, thescope of the present application is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, compositionof matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. Asone of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from thedisclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing orlater to be developed that perform substantially the same function orachieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodimentsdescribed herein may be utilized according to the present invention.Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within theirscope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter,means, methods, or steps.

What is claimed is:
 1. A housing for one or more components of aheating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) unit, comprising: oneor more ultraviolet light-sensitive components; a plurality of lightsources located inside of said housing; and a plurality of light shieldsat least partially located between the one or more components and saidplurality of light sources, and at least partially located between theone or more ultraviolet light-sensitive components and said plurality oflight sources, the plurality of light shields comprising a network ofopen-ended cells, each cell having ultraviolet light reflective walls,the plurality of light shields configured to have a fixed orientationrelative to said plurality of light sources, wherein the fixedorientation causes said plurality of light shields to direct anultraviolet light from said plurality of light sources through saidopen-ended cells towards the one or more components and away from theone or more ultraviolet light-sensitive components.
 2. The unit of claim1, wherein the plurality of light shields comprise a mounting bracketconfigured to connect to a plurality of fixtures located proximate theone or more components.
 3. The unit of claim 2, wherein the one or morecomponents are located on one side of the housing and a distal side ofthe housing comprises a plurality of blowers.
 4. The unit of claim 2,wherein the plurality of light shields extends from a drain pan to theplurality of fixtures.
 5. The unit of claim 1, further comprising aplurality of access openings and plurality of access panels configuredto cover the access openings and to be removed during operation to giveaccess to the interior of the housing.
 6. The unit of claim 3, whereinsaid network of open-ended cells form a substantially planar rectangularshape and said plurality of blowers comprises a first plurality ofultraviolet light sensitive components and the plurality of lightshields is configured to direct light away from said first plurality ofultraviolet light sensitive components.
 7. The unit of claim 1, whereinsaid light shield further includes a frame configured to maintain saidnetwork's shape.
 8. The unit of claim 1, wherein said light shieldincludes a cover configured to hold said light source a fixed distanceaway from said network.
 9. The unit of claim 1, wherein said lightshield includes a cover that has an interior surface that is UV lightreflective.
 10. The unit of claim 1, wherein said light shield includesa housing mounting bracket configured to connect said light shield tosaid housing so as to have said orientation.
 11. The unit of claim 1,wherein said light source includes one or more cylindrically-shapedlight bulbs, each said bulbs having a long axis that is substantiallycentrally aligned with and parallel to the one or more components. 12.The unit of claim 11, wherein said network has a cylindricalhemi-annular shape that at least partially circumscribes said long axisof said bulb, said long axis being located substantially at a radialcenter of said hemi-annulus.
 13. The unit of claim 1, wherein opposingsurfaces of said network and said light source are separated by adistance that ranges from about 1 to 10 cm.
 14. The unit of claim 1,wherein a surface of said network is separated from said one or morecomponents or drain pan by a distance that ranges from about 10 to 30cm.
 15. The unit of claim 1, wherein said orientation of said lightshield in said housing is such that said ultraviolet light projects outof said network over an angle that ranges from about 45 to 180 degrees.16. A method of manufacturing a housing for a heating, ventilating andair conditioning (HVAC) unit, comprising: providing a housing having oneor more access openings and one or more ultraviolet light-sensitivecomponents; placing one or more components in said housing such that theone or more components are located between paths for conditioned air andreturn airflow; locating a light source inside of said housing such thatultraviolet light emitted from said light source can reach the one ormore components; situating a light shield in the housing and at leastpartially between the one or more components and said light source, andat least partially between the one or more ultraviolet light-sensitivecomponents and said light source, wherein the light shield comprises anetwork of open-ended cells, each cell having ultraviolet lightreflective walls, and situating said light shield to have a fixedorientation relative to said light source, wherein the fixed orientationcauses said light shield to direct an ultraviolet light from said lightsource through said open-ended cells towards the one or more componentsand away from the one or more ultraviolet light-sensitive components.17. The method of claim 16, wherein situating said light shield includesconnecting mounting brackets of said light shield to fixtures of saidhousing such that said light shield has said orientation, wherein saidmounting brackets are reversibly connected to said fixtures.
 18. Themethod of claim 16, further including forming said light shieldincluding: forming said network of open-ended cells; and inserting saidnetwork into a frame configured to shape said network into a targetshape.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein said frame is configured toform said network into a cylindrical hemi-annular shape.
 20. The methodof claim 16, wherein locating said light source inside of said housingincludes attaching said light source to a cover of said light shield.